Kelso pensioner robbed of five-figure sum by telephone fraudsters

Borders police have launched an investigation into the incident and have issued a warning to the public.

Officers were contacted yesterday after the pensioner reported that a five-figure sum of cash had been taken from his bank account.

Earlier that day the victim had taken a call from a male, who claimed to be from the Bank of Scotland fraud team.

The caller was able to get the man to provide his bank details prior to the money being removed from the account.

Inquiries into this matter are ongoing and the public are reminded to be vigilant for such scams.

Inspector Jacqi McGuigan said: “The elderly victim is extremely upset that he has been tricked into providing his personal information, resulting in the loss of his money, and we are conducting inquiries to identify the caller.

“We want to take this opportunity to advise our communities that banks will not cold call you and ask for you to provide any account details and should you receive any calls of this nature, hang up and contact police immediatelly.

“A range of useful crime prevention advice aimed at safeguarding the public against fraud can be obtained by attending at your local police station or by visiting our wesbite at www.scotland.police.uk.”

Those with information relating to this incident can contact Kelso Police Station via 101 and quote incident number 3483 of February 20.

Alternatively, an anonymous report can be made to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.